Out of these, Echostar 9 is the only one that doesn’t really come in. I pick
up two very strong transponders on it with a linear LNB as a side-effect of
aiming a Dish 500 at Echostar 5. The 500’s pan is too small to receive a good
signal from Echostar 9, and its 9-degree separation misaligns 121°w when 129°w
is locked in. This same arrangement picks up one strong transponder from Anik
F3, Echostar’s odd bird at 188.7°w that transmits circular signals on linear
frequencies.

My switch configuration is unchanged since last time, but the last leg has been filled by 89°w.

Here are my four linear Ku-band antennas. They are all ex-Primestar Channel Master
hardware picked up for free from people who wanted them gone. I have one
79-centimeter, two 1-meter, and one 84-centimeter reflector.

This receives Galaxy 28, and spiders like to nest here. I should really cut up a
coffee can lid and cover it and seal it with epoxy. The plastic doesn’t attenuate Ku-band by a noticeable amount and will keep out the elements.

The 1-meter antennas are my favorite. They’re so sturdy and will pick up
everything even in the worst weather. Their obvious downside is their monstrous size. Good thing I don’t have to care about that!

This Invacom QPH-031 will be motorized some day. The 22khz tone switch selects
linear or circular output from the LNBF. There’s no circular signal at this orbital
location, but it’s a very nice linear Ku LNBF.

These are aimed at Echostar’s Dish Network and Bell Canada’s ExpressVu satellites. They have
some unencrypted channels worth recieving, like Hallmark Movie Channel on Echostar 3 or
NASA-TV on Echostar 6/8.

Here’s where it all comes together. It’s the same switch setup as last time, just
with that last leg utilized. Twelve RG-6 runs are trenched under the skirt of the house up and out through the wall behind the television.

This ex-Primestar LNB outputs the vertical and horizontal polarities on different
connectors. You can re-combine them using a standard multiswitch. I like
Zinwell’s switches and seal the VHF/UHF input to prevent water seeping in.

The whole setup. I know my house isn’t very glamourous, but farm living has its
advantages in lots of available space for satellite projects!

Bonus photo: The birds get to enjoy my bent reflectors. One is for water, one for
seeds and our stale bread.